Your 2-Day Venice, Italy Itinerary
This Venice Itinerary is authored by Antonio.
Venice is on the bucket list of many (probably all) travelers when they first think of visiting Italy. Although many people think the city is confined to its own little island, not many know that Venice is actually connected to the mainland and that it offers several opportunities for day trips!
From Venice, in fact, you can reach other beautiful Italian towns such as Treviso, Padua, Vicenza, and Bassano in less than an hour. And, I almost forgot to say, for a ridiculously low price: 5 to 10 Euro.
So let me share with you a 2-day itinerary for Venice, plus the best day trips you can include when visiting this little gem. It’ll work perfectly for a weekend in the area; just decide which city/cities around Venice you want to visit and make it a 3, 4, or even 5-day itinerary!
I promise it won’t be the usual trip you hear about from foreign guides. Be ready for outdoor activities and…I hope you like aperitivo and taking trains around Italy!
2-Day Venice Itinerary
Once you arrive in Venice, you’ll want to make sure you dedicate at least 2 days for touring the city. As a first-time visitor, I can assure you it won’t be easy for you to leave the island – Venice is just stunning!
For this reason, we’ll talk about Venice first, then we can get into the day trips from the city. Ready to go?
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Venice Itinerary Day 1: Walking Around the Island
You’re fresh off the airplane and you’re ready to start your tour of Venice. What do you need to do? Make sure you have two things:
- a map;
- a comfortable pair of shoes.
If you are an old-school traveler, you can find a free paper map — I love it! — at the train station (or you can always use your phone). With all of the narrow and winding streets, the island will look like a maze to you, so don’t worry if you get lost. It is very easy to!
Why comfortable shoes? Well, you will likely end up walking all day (unless you take a gondola, of course). In general, forget about nice shoes for touring on this trip. You don’t want to show a grumpy face in your pictures in beautiful San Marco square because your feet hurt!
You’ll likely start your visit from the main train station or from the area where your hotel is located. Either way, one thing is for sure: you’ll stop several times to admire all of the stunning bridges you’ll come across.
Gallerie dell’Academia and Peggy Guggenheim Museum
For art lovers, on the Southern side of the island you’ll find a few famous art museums. One is the Gallerie dell’Accademia museum (literally, The Galleries of Academia), which is located on the south bank of the Grand Canal — the main Venice canal — right across Ponte dell’Accademia.
This museum is mainly focused on Venetian art before the 19th century. If you like modern art, make sure to stop at the Peggy Guggenheim museum, a 5-minute walk from the Gallerie dell’Accademia.
Once you’ve fed your artistic soul with these two museums, cross the Ponte dell’Accademia to get to the north side of the Grand Canal. You might want to stop and take pictures of the view from this bridge; the view from there is one of the most photographed!
Piazza San Marco
After your photoshoot, head to Piazza San Marco (Saint Mark’s Square), which is less than 10 minutes away. Here’s the best time to visit Venice and Saint Mark’s Square.
Insider tip: If you want to eat a tramezzino or taste an espresso, do it before getting to the main square. Prices are really high there!
Insider tip part II: For a “cultural” food stop, visit a Bacaro. A Bacaro is a traditional Venetian wine and food shop, with little sandwiches and little finger foods. Visiting one is an experience itself. They’re small, friendly, cheap. Products are around 1 Euro each!
After your food stop, spend some time wandering around San Marco Square. You can walk inside the Basilica and on top of its roof, you can get to the top of the St Mark’s Campanile and admire the Venetian panorama, and visit Palazzo Ducale and its museum, which is right next to the square.
Next to it, you will find Il Ponte dei Sospiri (the Bridge of Sighs). Its canal has a peculiar position in the laguna. Close your eyes and hear the sound of the wind!
San Giorgio Maggiore
From there, you can either get a Vaporetto, a waterbus, and explore San Giorgio Maggiore (a little, picturesque island whose tower has another amazing panorama of the city) or you can make your way to a particular stop: Libreria Acqua Alta.
This is definitely the most offbeat bookstore you’ll ever see in your life. It features vintage books and has many cats inside wandering the store!
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Get on a Gondola
You can, and you should, hop on a Gondola almost anywhere on the Grand Canal. Make sure to ask for a real Venetian Gondoliere who can sing while he is rowing you around! During your gondola trip (or once you get off of it), make sure you stop by the stunning Rialto Bridge.
And that’s a wrap for day 1! After a long day of touring, the perfect ending would be at a local restaurant and a last walk around the Calli (a name for a typical street of Venice). At that time, it’ll be around sunset or after — you’ll notice Venice becomes really silent at night.
Enjoy a good shower and a nice sleep. You (and your feet) will need it!
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Venice Itinerary Day 2: Boat Trip Across the Lagoon
If you thought Venice was the only island worth a visit in the Venetian lagoon…I have good news: there’s so much more!
On the second day of your itinerary, you should take a Vaporetto (a waterbus) and explore two of the many islands around the lagoon: Murano and Burano.
But where can you get a Vaporetto? The most popular docks are Piazzale Roma or Fondamente Nove (often spelled Ft.e Nove). They’re in two different areas of Venice so feel free to board the one that’s closest to your hotel. The cost is less than 10 Euro and they are available every 30 minutes.
Murano
Once in Murano, you’ll notice the colorful glass. Truth is, if you have seen some nice and colorful pieces of glasses around the world, it was probably from this island! Murano artisans are world-renowned for their skills.
The good news for you is that you can take a peek at this ancient craft skill by touring the Glass Factory. You’ll see pieces of glass turning into animals or in any other shape you can imagine!
Burano
The island of Burano, instead, is a small, calm, yet extremely colorful island. Make sure your camera is charged because here you will shoot most of the photos of your trip.
The colorful houses, the tiny canals with boats, and the silence all around will win your heart. You will feel like you are in another, unreal dimension!
Touring these two islands will fill almost all of your day. If you want to go back to Venice for dinner, make sure to relax and enjoy the sunset while in the Vaporetto on your way back. When the sun goes down, the water of the lagoon and the buildings turn orange. Carpe diem!
End with an Aperol
Speaking of orange, let’s talk about Aperitivo and the most traditional Venetian drink: the Aperol Spritz. Venetians never start their dinner without first savoring an Aperol. The Rialto area is a good location where you can find both great bars and restaurants serving up these delicious drinks served with an orange!
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